Cooking&more

There was this family tradition we followed since I was a kid, and which me and my husband have continued with our children too and that is to cut a cake and eat it so we eat something sweet to welcome the new year.It has always been our my fond hope and belief that in so doing we are ensuring sweetness and joy for each and every moment for the rest of the new year. Optimistic much?? I guess so!!  Idealistic?? Definitely Surely in all the twenty plus years, of  carrying on this tradition, even I, a self styled incurable romantic and stubborn idealist should have realized that this trick doesn’t work, that you cannot bribe the fates with cake, that every year will bring its share of joys and sorrow, and as thousands of  internet memes going around, and the cynic in me say,  “ A new year is just a change in date and no big deal. Circumstances don’t drastically change because it’s a new year, and the resolutions (making resolutions on new years is so passé) can be made at any tim

It was a week since my wedding, My husband had asked me to prepare dinner for the family. It would be the first time I was cooking for my new family. Eager to impress, I racked my brain for a dish that would be special but at the same time something that I had some experience in making. "Okay, I'll make gobhi paratha" I decided. I had made it once or twice before under the supervison of my elder sister and had a pretty good idea of how it was made.... And now starts the very worst adventure  of my journey through the culinary world I gathered flour, cauliflower, chillies, Ginger, salt oil....chopped the veggies, salted them, set them aside and mixed the dough. Rolled it out and tried to stuff the veg mixture in the rolled out dough. The mixture just kept seeping out and the dough kept falling apart. I kept adding flour but the whole thing kept getting very soggy. I kept on adding flour in desperate hope of salvaging the wreck. A small sandpit of flour was forming around m